Tristan Pollock
Most startups find their first lawyers via their personal network.
“I know a guy who knows a guy.” — Saul Goodman
That’s how I started, too.
My co-founder and I got an intro to Orrick who temporarily delayed our first $10,000 of legal fees until we raised a seed round.
The first $10,000 included our company’s legal structure, incorporation, cap table, and our first convertible notes.
It was definitely more expensive than it had to be.
From there, my co-founder and I personally handled a lot of the duplicate work for our seed round raise, as well as drafted our own legal documents with help from free legal document templates online.
That saved us around $40,000 if we were going by Orrick’s rates ($200-$800/hour).
The other $60,000 was saved by actually working with a startup lawyer.
Whenever I needed legal work that I couldn’t do myself, I went to UpCounsel.com — a marketplace for on-demand legal services.
I’d usually save up to 60% off what a traditional law firm would charge for the same services.
Also, when I needed a specific legal specialty UpCounsel was a godsend.
I found some of the most impressive startup attorneys I’ve met who specialized in everything from real estate law to trademark contracts.
Full list of specialties I used:
-Trademarks
-Contract Review
-Real Estate Law
-Terms of Use
-Privacy Policy
-General Counsel
-Fundraising
-Geographic
My most used attorney was Jennifer Wang — who I swear by to this day.
So, if you like to save money on legal bills, here’s $100 off UpCounsel to start.
And remember, don’t Facebook it up.
This is just a small sample! Register to unlock our in-depth courses, hundreds of video courses, and a library of playbooks and articles to grow your startup fast. Let us Let us show you!
Submission confirms agreement to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
No comments yet.
Already a member? Login